Museums

Sushi, spirits and spooky spirits

Image: courtesy Bishop Museum

Ghostly Folklore

by Jamie Noguchi | Oct 10, 2012

Museums / Bishop Museum is hosting, “Textured Lives:

Japanese Immigrant Clothing From The Plantations of Hawaii,” running through Monday 10/15. One event associated with the exhibit, Sushi, Sake and Obake, will pay homage to the much beloved Japanese ghost-noir film style and two other favorites: sushi and sake.

Bishop Museum historian DeSoto Brown says there was “a time when Japanese spooky movies were popular–so much so that the word ‘obake’ became known even to non-Japanese speakers.” Obake films were “second only to the action-filled samurai films.”

Attendees will see the Cannes Film Festival award-winning film Kwaidan, directed by Masaki Kobayashi in 1964. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category. “Kwaidan” translates to “ghost story,” which seems more than suitable for such an October evening out with the spirits.